Queso Dip, or Another Mac and Cheese Variant

This is a take on my typical cheese sauce, but simpler, and damned if it isn't good on just about everything (including just a spoon).  I made it first for burritos, but it makes good nachos, and it's neutral enough to work with non-tex-mex foods.  It's garlic heavy, but if you're using it for a sauce that shouldn't be a problem.

1 C heavy cream
1 1/2 C milk
22 g sodium citrate*
 2 small onions, chopped
 6 cloves garlic, chopped
 2 T butter or bacon grease
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cumin
8 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz pepper jack cheese, grated
Cayenne to taste

Saute the onion and garlic in the butter/grease until translucent.  Add the milk and sodium and bring to a simmer.  Add the cheese, a handful at a time along with a pinch of cumin, allowing it to melt in while stirring frequently.  Blend the cheese sauce either in a blender or with an immersion blender.  Add the cayenne, salt, and pepper.  Adjust seasoning as necessary.

*Note: a lot of the cheese you'll find out there is actually labeled as "cheese product".  Check the label; if it contains sodium phosphate you probably don't need the sodium citrate, or only half as much (they both emulsify the sauce and keep the fats and liquids from separating).

Rich and Creamy Smoked Cheddar Sauce

This is a take on my typical cheese sauce, and one that I laid out in a comment on one of the posts, but it's so good it deserves it's own entry.  This is one of those things that's so easy and yet so good that you'll find yourself thinking "I'm a freaking wizard!".  Mac and cheese is an obvious usage, but it's good on baked potatoes, eggs, hash browns, or wherever else you want cheesy goodness.  Just remember that the final sauce is only as good as the cheese you start with.

2 1/2 C whole milk
22 g sodium citrate*
 2 small onions, chopped
 6 cloves garlic, chopped
 2 T butter or bacon grease
 2 T dijon mustard, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz smoked cheddar cheese, grated
Cayenne to taste

Saute the onion and garlic in the butter/grease until translucent.  Add the milk and sodium citrate and bring to a simmer.  Add the cheese, a handful at a time, allowing it to melt in while stirring frequently.  Blend the cheese sauce either in a blender or with an immersion blender.  Add the mustard, cayenne, salt, and pepper.  Adjust seasoning as necessary.

*Note: a lot of the cheddar you'll find out there is actually labeled as "cheese product".  Check the label; if it contains sodium phosphate you probably don't need the sodium citrate (they both emulsify the sauce and keep the fats and liquids from separating).

Bacon Mac and Cheese

Yet another mac and cheese post, this one is more of a classic mac and cheese with a little bacon thrown in; you could leave out the bacon, but bacon rocks.

1 1/4 C whole milk
1/2 lb macaroni or shells
3-4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
11 g sodium citrate
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T butter (or use the fat from the bacon)
1 T dijon mustard, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Cook the pasta according to package directions until just shy of al dente.  While that is cooking saute the onion and garlic in the butter until translucent.  Add the milk and sodium and bring to a simmer.  Add the cheese, a handful at a time, allowing it to melt in while stirring frequently.  Blend the cheese sauce either in a blender or with an immersion blender.  Add the mustard, bacon, salt, and pepper.  Adjust seasoning and add the pasta to the sauce.  Cook while stirring just until the pasta has reached al dente.

Chipotle and Chorizo Mac and Cheese

Another take on mac and cheese using sodium citrate to make a perfectly smooth cheese sauce.  This one mixes a little spice and smokiness in with the rich and creamy cheese sauce.  This makes and excellent side dish, or you could just fill a bowl and eat it for a meal.  If you left out the chorizo and pasta this would also make an excellent sauce for burritos.

11 g sodium citrate
8 oz hot pepper cheddar (or white cheddar), shredded
3 chipotles in adobo sauce, minced
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 C half and half
2 T butter
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/4 t mustard powder
1/4 lb Mexican chorizo, browned
2 C dry macaroni, cooked according to package directions

Melt the butter and saute the onions and garlic until just starting to brown.  Add the half and half, sodium citrate, chipotles, paprika, and mustard.  Bring to a simmer and add the cheese a handful at a time; once all the cheese has been incorporated mix with an immersion blender.  Add the chorizo and adjust seasoning as needed.  Mix in the pasta and serve.

Smoked Gouda and Chorizo Mac and Cheese

This is my riff on the mac and cheese from Modernist Cuisine at Home, and one of my first forays into what is often called molecular gastronomy.  You'll probably have to get the sodium citrate online, but using it means this is actually less work than the typical roux based version while giving a more pronounced cheese flavor.  What the sodium citrate is doing here is preventing the protein in the cheese from aggregating, so it keeps the cheese sauce from breaking into fat and clumps of protein.  It also helps emulsify the milk with the cheese.  The basic idea can be used with other flavors, just change the type of cheese and change out the chorizo for some other flavoring.

1 1/8 C skim milk
11 g sodium citrate

1/4 lb smoked gouda, grated
1/4 lb white cheddar
1 inch piece of Spanish chorizo, in 1/8" cube, or crisped bacon
2 C (1/2 lb) dried pasta

Over medium low heat cook the chorizo to render the fat and crisp it up, remove from heat.
Cook pasta in salted water until al dente, drain and reserve.
Combine the milk with the sodium citrate and bring to a bare simmer.  Add the smoked gouda a handful at a time and whisk in or use an immersion blender.  Add in the reserved chorizo and the rendered fat, whisk to combine then adjust seasoning; you may also want to whisk in a little water if the cheese sauce is too thick.
Combine the cheese sauce and the pasta and serve.

Limburger

So I decided that I needed to try Limburger cheese, since I'd never had it before. It was something of an adventure, but honestly one I think you should try for yourself.

First impression from smell: no where near as bad as I expected, though it does kind of smell like the treats I feed my cat.

Eating a thick slice on a cracker: OH MY GOD the ammonia. It's rich and creamy, but it's also bitter, a little sour, and has that ammonia punch that hits you right in the nose hairs.

Eating a very thin slice on a cracker: Rich and creamy seems to predominate, though there is a little bitter/sour on the aftertaste. The nostril burning ammonia seems to be completely missing, and it's generally a rich and complex flavor that you could easily grow to love.

Overall, a good cheese for snacking, just make sure to eat it in small amounts.